Paul Dennis Reid Dead At 55

Paul Dennis Reid also went by Justin Parks and Justin Dennis Reid, Jr. He was being held at Nashville’s Riverbend Maximum Security Institution. Credit: TDOC

One of Middle Tennessee’s most notorious killers has died on death row. A physician at Nashville General Hospital pronounced Paul Dennis Reid dead on Friday at 5:55 p.m.

Reid was convicted for a string of murders in 1997.

• Sarah Jackson, 16, and Steve Hampton, 25, at the Captain D’s in Donelson.
• Andrea Brown, 17, Ronald Santiago, 27, and Robert Sewell Jr., 23, at the McDonalds in Hermitage.
• Angela Holmes, 21, and Michelle Mace, 16, at the Baskin-Robbins in Clarksville.

Family members of those killed heard rumors this week that Reid was hospitalized. Connie Black, whose daughter was murdered, told the Leaf Chronicle newspaper that she had conflicting feelings upon learning of Reid’s condition.

“We have emotions, even though he’s on death row and not a part of my life, there are still emotional connections,” Black said. “He was the last person to see my child alive, as horrific and brutal as that was. It’s another piece of her leaving – if it makes any sense – it’s another finality in her leaving.”

Reid was 55 years old. The cause of death will be determined by the state’s Medical Examiner.

Reid’s original execution date was more than a decade ago – April 29, 2003. At the time, he had no interest in appealing his death sentence, but attorneys filed petitions on his behalf and stayed the execution. This year, the Tennessee Supreme Court ruled that appeals could not be filed against his wishes.